Improvement in registers for odometers



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

H. E. HART, oE NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN REGISTERS FOR ODOMETERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 72,033, dated December10, 1867.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY F. HART, ot the city, county, and State of NewYork, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Machines forRegistering Numbers for Odometers and other Purposes; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, whichv will enable those skilled in the art to make and use thesame, reference bein g h ad to tlie accompanying drawings, forming partot' this specification, in which- Figure l is a side view of my improvedregistering appara-tus within a case 5 Fig. 2, a top view ot theapparatus, showing the registeringnumbers on the'cogs ot the wheelsinred under the cover of the ease; Fig. 3, a bottom view of the apparatuswithin the case.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to a new and improved machine or apparatus forregistering numbers applicable to odometers or measurements ot'quantities ot' all kinds, such as the numbers of barrels ot' iour,bushels of grain, or any other commodity that requires a tally or recordot' the quantity packed, stored, weighed, or handled in any manner, andapplicable also to machinery ot' all kinds to register the revolutionsof wheels decimally.

This improvement consists in a combination of cog-wheels so arranged inrelation to each other that the power ot' the numbers is raised in thesuccessive wheels by a graduated scale ot measurement, beginning at zeroon cach wheel, so that any numberot' units of measurement produced bythe motive power shall be registered up to any required quantity or sumof units ofmeasurement designated by multiples of the lessermeasurements according to the scale of divisions ot' quantitiesemployed. Connected with the apparatus is a signal-bell, which strikesto mark any desired number of units ot measurement that are registered.

The drawings represent my registering apparatus applied as an odometer;but it will be understood that the principle ot' operation and plan ofarrangement are the same t'or all purposes.

A represents the bottom ot' a case inclosing theapparatus, in which aseries ot' registeringwheels, Nos. 1 2 3 4L 5 G, are hung on the underside ot' the box lid or top B. These wheels are suspended on short pinsa a in an inclined position, with the cogs or leaves overlapping eachother instead ot' engaging in the usual way; and on one cog ot' eachwheel is a side pin or tappet, b, that catches a cog on the wheel nextabove it in the series, and thus moves it one cog forward at everyrevolution ot' the wheel which carries the pin b. The cogs on the wheelsare marked with figures on one side designating units or divisions ofmeasurement in the ascending scale of numbers which the wheels representrespectively. The lid B ofthe case is pierced with holes d d, coveredwith glass, to observe the figures on the cogs of the wheels as theymove around to register the measurement of movement; and each wheel inthe series represents some division or multiple of a unit ofmeasurement. For example, wheel No. l represents subdivisions of rods infeet; wheel No. 2 represents subdivisions of eighths ot a mile in rods;wheel No. 3 represents subdivisions of miles in eighths ot' a mile, andNos. et 5 6 represent units, tens, and hundreds ot'miles, respectively,the scale ot' measurement ascending' in order from wheel No. l to No. 6.The apparatus shown in the drawings thus registers distances of feet,rods, eighths ot' a mile, and miles up to one thousand miles, which thevehicle to which it is attached may travel.

Wheel No. l has six cogs, and is marked for connection with acarriage-wheel measuring eleven leet in circumference, so that eachrevolution ot' the carriage-wheel shall move wheel No. l the space ofone cog, and each of its revolutions shall thus register sixty-six feet,or four rods, which last distance is the unit or" measurement registeredby the movement ot' wheel No. 2 for the space ot` one cog by the spur bon wheel No. l. lVheel No. 2 has ten cogs, and each ot' its revolutionsregisters1 forty rods, or the eighth of a mile, which is the unit ofmeasurement registered by wheel No. 3. This wheel has eightcogs tomeasure one mile in Vits revolution, which is the unit ot'rneasurementregistered by wheel No. 4. This wheel registers the miles up to ten,while wheel No. 5 registers tens ot' miles, and wheel No. 6 registershundreds ol' miles up to one thousand. The several wheels in the seriestherefore indicate in whole numbers and divisions the disa y:moet:

tance traveled; and a signal-bell, C, may also be placed in the case toring` at every halfmile by placing pins or tappets o c at equidistantpoints on Wheel No. 3, which pins shall move a hammer, h, to strike thebell at each half-revolution. Thus signals can be arranged at any pointof measurement..

The springs e e are placed at the sides of the wheels to holdV them inplace.

It is evident that the scale of numbers or units of measurement can bevaried as desired, to adapt the apparatus to different purposes, bychanges in the number of the wheels and cogs employed and theirrelations to each other.

By forming the lid B with notches resembling ratchet-teeth upon itsunder side, and by pivoting the counting-Wheels thereto in an inclinedposition, I am enabled to use shafts or screws of equal length forsecuring said Wheels to the lid, thereby saving a large amount of roomwhich would otherwise be occupiedif the Wheels were placed in ahorizontal position.

Having described the construction and operation ot my invention, I claimas new and desire toseoure by Letters Patent- The arrangement in aninclined position of the counting-Wheels l, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 uponshafts of equal lengths, in combination with the notched and perforatedlid B, as herein shown and described.

H. F. HART.

Vitnesses WM. F. MCNAMARA, ALEX. F. ROBERTS.

